Do You Ask for the Sale?

Most salespeople would answer this question with an astounding “YES!” However, upon further examination, they only ask for it when they think the customer will buy. What if the salesperson is wrong? What if they don’t ask, and the customer would have bought if they had.

Hockey legend, Wayne Gretzsky, has been quoted as saying:

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

When it comes to selling anything, you must do two things:

1. Present a Proposal
2. Ask for the Sale

If you do not do both of these, with every customer, you are missing your shot by not talking it. Logic asks, “Why wouldn’t every salesperson present a proposal and ask for the sale?”

The number one reason is FEAR OF REJECTION! This is easy to understand, no one likes to be rejected. However, you as the salesperson, are not being rejected. In fact, the customer is not even rejecting your product or service. They are only telling you, not right now. At that particular moment, they have not seen enough value to make a buying decision.

5 Additional Reasons Salespeople Do NOT Present a Proposal and Ask for the Sale with EVERY Customer

1. Lack of Confidence in their Solution – If you feel your solution is not the right one for your customer than you customer is going to feel that way too. It is your responsibility to ensure you find the best fit for your customer.
2. Fear of Jeopardizing the Relationship – If you have done all the steps in the sales process and you are working in the best interest of your customer, then you have not only earned the right not ask for the sale, but you are more likely to actually earn it.
3. Not a Salesperson Syndrome – A salesperson who does not believe they are a salesperson, or that does not want to be a salesperson, can make it difficult to present numbers and ask for a sale with confidence.
4. Not Sure When to Ask – Asking for the sale must be a clearly defined step of your sales process. One that should be part of the natural progression of the sale.
5. Not Sure How to Ask – You know it’s coming, BE PREPARED. Practice presenting proposals. Practice asking for the sale. Practice what happens when the customer says “yes” Practice when a customer gives you an objection. Practice until you are prepared. Practice until you can’t get it wrong!

Closing the sale should ALWAYS be the easiest part of the sales process. If everything before the close was done properly, the close will soon become the next natural step. The more difficult the close, the less effectively the previous steps of the sale were handled.

Think about your sales process:

The more effectively you build your Customer Profile, the more likely you are to select the right solution for the customer.

The closer to perfect the solution is for the customer, the more effectively you can present and demonstrate that solution to the customer.

The more effective your presentation and demonstration is the more likely the customer is going to want to know what it is going to take to purchase this solution.

An Investment Proposal, that hits the mark, on the right solution, is easy for a customer to say “yes,” to.

Ask you can see; every stage of your sales process naturally rolls into the next. Any resistance after you present the Investment Proposal can be traced back to something mis-handled during the previous steps. Always build a rock-solid Customer Profile. Always build value that is relevant to the customer. Always focus on the next step in the process. If you do these things, presenting a proposal, asking for the sale, and getting it will be as simple as can be!